Come Home Baby
by orsinoslady
Summary: AU, NH main couple. They never get married, but date in college. Stuff happens and they don't end up together. But when they broke up, Haley was pregnant. Nathan doesn't know. Finds out four years later when he comes home for a break. Summary inside. R
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it…though if I did…the things I would do to/with James Lafferty…

**A/N:** This is my first OTH fic. I've written under other categories, so I do have some experience writing and decided to try my hand at this because I got an idea this morning.

Basically, this is AU (major AU). Nathan and Haley are the primary couple and other couplings I'm not too sure on at the moment. But the gist of the story is Haley and Nathan started to date in college. Nathan was going to ask Haley to marry him, but Dan interfered and told Nathan some things that weren't true about Haley, so he left. Around this same time, Haley found out she was pregnant and because Nathan just left, she never got a chance to tell him about the baby. This story will take place four years in the future. Haley is a school teacher in Tree Hill with a four year old son named James Scott. Nathan is taking a break from the NBA (which is why he left) because of stress. This story will follow them as they rediscover themselves and their family.

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_May 2004_

Haley slowly sank down onto the toilet seat and looked at the pregnancy test in her hand. She was quite shocked to put it lightly. She was a senior at Duke University, a couple of weeks from graduating and she had just found out she was pregnant.

Haley slowly let out a sigh. _"What am I going to do?"_ she thought to herself. _"First I need to tell Nathan. Then we have to decide what to do together."_

With that new resolve, Haley stood up off the seat of the toilet and made her way to the living room of the apartment she shared with Brooke and Peyton. When she reached it, she saw Brooke and Peyton arguing over what music should be played while they make dinner. Haley shook her head and made her way into the kitchen to get it started.

Eventually they were able to agree on music and made their way into the kitchen to help as much as they could. Though Haley ended up doing most of the work because it was well known that Peyton and Brooke could set fire to almost anything they tried to cook. Even with the set backs that Brooke and Peyton posed, they were able to get dinner cooked in a timely manner and they were eating before long.

Throughout dinner Haley was a little quieter than normal and didn't eat as much as she was known to.

"Is anything wrong Tutor girl?" Brooke asked her.

"What do you mean?" Haley asked her, panicking.

"You were pretty quiet through dinner and you didn't eat much. Is something on your mind?" Peyton said.

"No, I'm just stressed because of finishing everything up. I guess I'm still scared they're going to tell me that I have one more class I have to take before I graduate and I won't be able to walk with you guys."

Brooke and Peyton laughed. "You always were the worrier of our group," Brooke said as she put her dirty dishes away.

Haley let a strained giggled escape her mouth. She quickly finished cleaning everything up and headed back to her room. She had a lot that she had to think about and the main thing was: how was she going to tell Nathan?

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The same time that Haley was finding out about her pregnancy, Nathan was being told what seemed like the truth about her. His father, Dan Scott, had come up to see him at Duke and brought with him information on one Miss Haley James, Nathan's girlfriend.

"You see son?" Dan asked. "She's not the girl you thought she was?"

Nathan was currently looking at photos that Dan had acquired of Haley. They showed her around town and at strip clubs. It showed a side of her that he didn't know existed. He slowly let the pictures fall from his hands as he slumped.

"You'll thank me one day," Dan said as he gathered the photos and left Nathan alone.

Nathan didn't acknowledge Dan as he left. He was too wrapped up in his own thoughts. He couldn't believe that Haley moonlighted as a stripper or any of the other things that his dad told him, though it definitely looked true from the pictures.

Nathan roughly ran his hand across his face and made his way back to the apartment he shared with Luke. When he got there, it was empty, which he was thankful for, and he went to take a shower and continued to think about everything that Dan had told him.

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Shortly after dinner, Peyton and Brooke left, leaving Haley alone. Just as she wanted to be at the moment. But unfortunately for Haley, a little while after the two of them left, there was a knock on the door.

She slowly made her way to the door and opened it to see Nathan standing there, looking horrible.

"Nathan, I wasn't expecting to see you tonight," she told him as she leaned up to kiss him.

Before she could kiss his mouth, though, he turned his head and she caught his cheek. When Haley pulled back she had a puzzled look on her face. She moved to the side so he could come in and watched him as he made his way to the living room.

After shutting the door, she followed him into the room.

"Is anything wrong?" she asked him after a few moments of silence.

It took Nathan a few seconds to answer. "I can't do this anymore Haley."

Haley knew something was wrong. He never called her Haley unless it was something incredibly important. "What do you mean Nathan?"

"I mean, that I don't want to be with you anymore."

Haley could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "You're breaking up with me? Why?"

"I've accepted the draft. I'm going to be playing in the NBA. You're going to be somewhere else teaching. It just won't work."

"It will work!" she told him as her voice broke. "I love you! I told you I'd go wherever you wanted to go to play. That nothing else mattered as long as I was with you."

"I know you did. But I don't feel the same way," he told her. "It's not fair to either of us. I'm sorry."

Haley watched as he walked from the apartment. She burst into tears as soon as he left. A few minutes later she had to rush to the bathroom because she could tell she was going to be sick. She threw up dinner and dry heaved for a little while until she was finally able to make it to her room. As soon as she got ready for bed, she lay on her bed in a ball and cried herself to sleep.

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Nathan felt horrible after breaking up with Haley. He didn't want to do it because he loved her with all his heart, but he couldn't reconcile what his father told him about her and what he knew from being her boyfriend. He didn't even want to think about her anymore. Though he couldn't help but think about her.

When he got back to the apartment, he went straight to his room where he did something he hadn't done in years: he cried.


	2. Shocks

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own it…

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews. I really enjoyed reading them. This is a quick note to let you guys know what will hopefully become a regular posting schedule. I hope to update once a week. I'm going to aim for Fridays, but I may switch days depending on stuff. I am updating another story in another fandom, but there are only a few chapters left in the story. Once I finish with that one I will devote my time to this one more fully. So until that one finishes up, this could have sporadic updates. Again, thanks for the reviews. They always motivate me to update more often and I even get ideas from them…so you never know when what you think is going to happen might…

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_Four years later, May 2008_

Haley sighed as she made her way into her tiny house. It had been a long day at work and she was expecting Lucas to come over anytime now. She quickly put her things away and changed out of her work clothes. As she walked out from her bedroom, the front door opened and a small bundle threw itself at her.

"Mommy! Mommy!" the bundle shouted.

"Jamie, what have I told you about your inside voice?"

"Sorry Mommy," he said in a solemn voice.

"It's okay baby," she said as she kissed him on the head. "What did you do with Uncle Luke today?"

Jamie then started to happily rattle off all the things he had done with him uncle throughout the day. When he finally stopped to take a breath, Haley quickly scooped him up and headed for the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

"Why don't you go put one of your movies on?" she asked Jamie when she set him down.

He quickly ran from the room into his play room to put a Veggie Tales DVD in. When she was certain he was settled in, Haley turned to look and gave him a quick hug.

"Thanks for taking him again."

"It's no problem Hales," he told her with a small smile. "I love spending time with my nephew."

Haley couldn't stop the tears that welled up in her eyes. Every time she heard Luke called Uncle she remembered her little boy's father, Nathan and how badly she had been hurt by him. Luckily enough though, she was able to move on (at least that's what she tried to tell herself) and raise her little boy with the help of her friends, who all supported her decision to keep him. They even knew who the father was, though they never told him about his son.

Nathan occasionally asked about Haley and they could all tell that he was still hung up on her when they talked, but they didn't feel it was their place to break news like that to him. So they just told him that she was good and was still enjoying her job and leaving it at that.

Ever since that night four years ago he knew he had made a horrible mistake, especially when he found out that the pictures his father had of Haley were fake. It turns out Dan had hired someone that looked like Haley to go around Durham dressed like her so Dan could purposefully get them to break up. Dan knew Nathan's weaknesses and used them to his full advantage. He didn't think that Nathan needed to be tied down so early on in his career, so he had made sure he got rid of the one thing that Nathan truly cared about: Haley.

But no one knew this. Nathan kept it all to himself. He and Haley never told anyone the real reason they broke up and they learned shortly after the break up that neither wanted it to be brought up. Pretty soon after graduation, Nathan left and Haley told her friends she was pregnant with his baby. She also informed them that he didn't know and she didn't want him to know. They didn't agree with him not knowing, but they knew she was going through a rough time.

"He's coming to town Hales," Lucas said suddenly, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Who's coming?" she asked, not quite understanding what he was saying.

"Nathan. He's taking a break from the NBA."

Haley gripped the side of the counter tightly. "What do you mean 'he's taking a break from the NBA?' Do you mean like a two week vacation?"

"No," he said shaking his head. "I mean he's taking the next season off. He told me that he's been really stressed lately and that it doesn't hold the same thrill that it used to hold for him."

Haley just nodded her head and started to busy herself with cutting up the onions she was using for her spaghetti sauce. "Are you staying for dinner?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Can't. My mom wants me to be home tonight," he told her apologetically. "Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow? She'd love to see you and get the chance to spoil her godson."

"Sure. I'll be over around 6 with Jamie."

Lucas smiled at her and waved as he left the house. After he had left, Haley's calm exterior crumpled. She couldn't believe that Nathan was coming back to Tree Hill of all places for his "break." Haley sighed to herself. _"Well, it's better to face him now and hope that I can avoid him as much as possible,"_ she thought to herself.

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Nathan smiled as he got off the plane. It felt good to be back home. He hadn't been in Tree Hill since he left for the NBA. As he walked into the airport he saw his brother, Lucas, standing there with a little boy.

"Hey Luke," he said as he got close enough.

"Hey Nathan," he responded as he pulled him into a hug.

"Who's the little guy?" Nathan asked him.

"His name is Jamie," he told Nathan before saying to Jamie, "Say hi to Mr. Nathan."

"Hi Mr. Nathan," came Jamie's quiet response.

"Sorry about him Nathan. He's shy around people he doesn't know."

Nathan just shrugged and made his way over to the baggage claim. "Whose kid is he anyways?"

"A friend Luke said vaguely.

Nathan just nodded, accepting Luke's excuse. The truth of the matter is Lucas wasn't even supposed to have Jamie that day. But an emergency had happened that caused Haley to have to rush to the school on a Saturday meaning he had to take Jamie to the airport when he picked Nathan up. Needless to say, he wasn't comfortable with the situation. He was scared that Haley was going to walk to him any minute and kill him for bringing Jamie to the airport or that Nathan would figure out that the little boy was his.

While Nathan claimed his bags, Luke's phone started to go off. He saw that it was Haley and moved away so he could talk to her without Nathan knowing. He pulled Jamie to the side with him as he answered his phone.

"What's up Hales?" he said into the phone.

He listened for a few moments before he said, "I can't do that right now…"

He listened again for a few moments before he tried to say, "That's really not a good idea right now…"

But again she cut him off. Finally he sighed and said that he would do it. He closed his phone and groaned in frustration. It turns out that Haley needed to get Jamie back from him because she had forgotten about a play date she had scheduled for him. She already had most of his stuff with her at the school, so she just needed Lucas to drop Jamie off.

Nathan wandered over and said, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. But before I can take you home I've got to drop this little guy off with his mom."

Jamie perked up upon hearing his mom mentioned. "I get to see Mommy now?"

"Yes little guy, you get to see Mommy now."

Jamie started to bounce from foot to foot. Although he saw his mother a lot, he was always so excited to see her when he had been away for a little while. The two of them were very close. Nathan just shrugged at Luke's comment, figuring that he most likely wouldn't know who it was anyways.

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Luke pulled his car up in front of Tree Hill High School and parked. As he moved to the back to get Jamie out of his car seat, he heard Nathan exit the front seat.

"Hey, Nate. This won't take that long, so you don't have to get out," Luke said almost desperately.

"Dude, it's fine," Nathan said looking at him weird. "I haven't been here in a while and I want to walk the halls for a bit."

Lucas blew out a frustrated breath. This wasn't going to be good, he could just tell. Little did he know it was about to get a little bit worse. As soon as he got Jamie out of his car seat, the little sprinted towards the building that Haley's classroom was in.

"Jamie!" Lucas called as he ran after him.

He caught up with him at the door since Jamie wasn't strong enough to get the door open.

"What have I told you about running off like that?" Luke questioned him.

"I'm sorry Uncle Luke," Jamie said in a tiny voice.

Nathan walked up as he said that and looked at Luke funny. Luke didn't answer the question, although he knew Nathan was wondering why the little boy had called him Uncle Luke.

The trio made their way into the school and started down the hall. Lucas' apprehension got greater the closer they came to Haley's room. He just knew this was going to be bad. They had almost reached her room when Lucas heard Haley call from the side hallway. Jamie quickly ran towards her while screaming, "Mommy!"

Haley laughed as she picked him up and whispered in his ear. Haley walked closer to Luke, not noticing the other person that was standing beside him, struck by seeing her.

"Thanks for bringing him Luke. I completely forgot about the play date I made for him," Haley said as she noticed the person standing next to Lucas.

"Hales—"

"Nathan—"

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_Ok, so the only reason I updated again was because I had inspiration strike and it's good to strike while the iron is hot. That was cliché, but who cares? Anywho, hope you enjoyed it and that you leave me some amazing reviews. I do have a quick question for the people that are reading this: is anyone willing to beta for me? With my other stories I have a beta, but I don't think they'd really help me out on this one since it's a completely different genre. If you are willing, let me know in a review or PM me and we can exchange info._


	3. Awkwardness

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it…though I wish I did…

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews! I really love to read what you guys think and they definitely help me to keep motivated to write. Here's the next chapter and I hope y'all keep on reviewing!

Nathan and Haley stared at each other for a few moments. In their minds it was like four years hadn't passed. But in reality that long had passed and they were noticing the differences.

Haley quickly swallowed the lump in her throat and shakily said, "Hey Nathan. How are you?"

"I'm good," he responded while looking around nervously.

Before they could think of anything else to say, Jamie cut in with, "Mommy, how do you know this man?"

Haley looked down at him. But before she could answer, Luke picked Jamie up and said, "Come on little man. Let's go to the gym for a little while until your Mommy is ready to leave."

Haley smiled gratefully at Luke. She could definitely see the conversation getting very awkward if Jamie stayed and asked more questions. As it is, she knew she would have to answer some later that night, but at least it wouldn't be in front of Nathan.

Haley started to walk down the hall and motioned for Nathan to follow her. When they reached her classroom, Nathan stood in the doorway and watched Haley move around the room.

"You can come in you know," she told him without turning around.

"Sorry, I was just looking around the room," he responded as he walked in. "How have you been Hales?"

"Okay. It's been rough, but I've managed."

"How so?"

"If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it right now," she said, glancing over her shoulder.

"Ok. That's fine."

They lapsed into silence again. Nathan started to wander around the room and looked at the student artwork she had hanging on the walls. One of Haley's big projects was to have her students put themselves into groups and then draw a movie poster representing the book they were reading. Out of all the posters, she would pick the best ones and put them on her wall. At the end of the year she would give them the option of taking them home or letting her keep them for the next year. There was a good portion on the wall, signaling that most of the students had let her keep them.

When he reached the back of the classroom, he noticed a drawing that wasn't as well drawn as the posters, so he bent down to look at it. It was a drawing of two people and they were labeled with the names Mommy and me. Nathan then looked at the bottom of the page and saw the name Jamie Scott. His forehead wrinkled in confusion.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't hear Haley come up behind him, so he jumped when he heard her ask, "What're you looking at?"

"Um, a drawing of Jamie's."

"Which one?"

Nathan pointed out which one and he saw the color drain from her face. He also saw panic fleetingly cross her face before disappearing and being replaced with unease.

"Why does he have the last name Scott?"

Haley bit her lip and wouldn't meet his eyes. She then said, "He signs all his papers that way because of Luke. He wants to be just like him, so to him his last name is Scott."

Nathan didn't believe her, but he didn't want to push it. In all honesty, he was a little worried that Luke and Haley were together or had been together after Haley and he broke up and seeing his last name after Jamie's name seemed to confirm that the little boy could possibly be Luke's but didn't want anyone to know about it.

Haley looked relieved that he didn't comment anymore on it and made her way back to the front of the classroom to gather her things. Nathan walked out into the hall to wait for her to finish getting her things together. A few minutes later she walked out and locked her door.

"They're probably still in the gym, so that's where I'm heading."

Nathan nodded but didn't say anything. He just followed her down the hall and tried not to be too obvious about the fact that he was checking her ass out. He thought that even though she had had a child, she still had an amazing body. If anything, having Jamie had made her that much more appealing to him.

They quickly reached the gym and Nathan held the door open for her and then followed her in. He saw Luke standing with Jamie on his shoulders. Nathan couldn't stop the stab that went through his heart when he thought about how he and Haley could have had this by now but he had ruined it by breaking up with her because of what his father had said.

Nathan watched as Jamie's face lit up as he saw his mother and squirmed until Lucas put him down so he could run up to her. He laughed when he heard what came out of his mouth.

"Mommy! I did a slam dunk!"

"Did you?!" Haley asked dramatizing the question.

Jamie vigorously nodded his head.

"That's good squirt. Go on and get your stuff so you can get to your friends house."

Jamie ran to the other side of the gym to grab his stuff. Nathan made his way over to Haley as Luke walked over to help Jamie.

"Haley," Nathan said to get her attention.

She turned around to look at him and he was momentarily speechless to see the love for her son radiating from her eyes.

"Yeah?" she asked when he hadn't said anything.

"Sorry. Um…I was wondering if you would like to meet me for dinner tonight. You can bring Jamie if you want."

"Nathan, I would love to but…"

Before she could finish, Luke interrupted her by saying, "I can take him tonight Hales. You haven't been out in a while and the school year is about to start. Me and Jamie will be fine won't we?"

"Yep," Jamie said.

Haley bit her lip and thought for a few moments. "Ok," she said after a few seconds.

Nathan broke out into a broad grin. He was excited.

"Ok, well you take Jamie now and I'll be by around 6-ish to get him," Luke said as he gave Hales a hug and whispered in her ear, "Have fun. Nate has changed some over the last four years and I still think the two of you would be great. Besides, think of Jamie. He deserves to know his father."

Haley nodded at Luke as he pulled away.

"Is 6:30 good for you?" Nathan asked her after Luke had separated from her.

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Ok, we'll see you guys later," Luke said as he and Nathan walked out of the gym.

Haley stood rooted to her spot for a few minutes after they left and was brought out of her stupor by Jamie reminding her that he had a play date. Haley shook her head and took Jamie's offered hand as they walked to her car.

As they walked, she couldn't help but think, _"I have a date with Nathan Scott tonight."_

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_Again, thanks for the reviews. As with the last post, opening for beta. I would really appreciate anyone willing to take it. I did have someone lined up, but I'm not sure what's going on with it right now…so we'll play it by ear. Please R&R!_


	4. The Date

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it.

**A/N:** I wasn't going to update so soon, but I got a review from someone that seemed to have missed a few things in the story, so I wanted to set a few things straight. First off, Haley doesn't know about the pictures. Nathan didn't tell her and she kind of "accepted" his leaving (though not really if you get what I mean). Second, Nathan didn't realize the pictures were fake right away because you know how Dan can be. He's like the devil whispering in your ear; you can't help but listen and believe him. Third, Haley isn't really going on the date willingly. She is to a point since she hasn't gotten over Nathan, but if you read through the previous chapter you'll see that Luke sort of took the decision out of her hands. He also told her to give him a chance. That's the main reason they're having this date. Some things will come to light (not all, but some) and it will help to smooth the way for later happenings. So I'll get off my soapbox now and continue on with the story. By the way, the M-rating comes out in this chappy, so you have been warned.

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Luke had some to get Jamie a few minutes before and Haley was not left alone to think about everything dealing with Nathan as she got dressed. She had honestly thought that she would have more time to prepare herself for the first meeting with him and not be surprised on her first day back. At least Luke had explained why Nathan was with him. Haley had completely forgotten that Luke was supposed to pick him up from the airport today and then when she called to have him bring Jamie, it explained as awful lot about why he said he couldn't do it at the moment. He didn't want her to know that Nathan had seen Jamie. His son.

"_His son,"_ Haley thought to herself.

She wondered how she had never really noticed the resemblance between Jamie and Nathan. Although, she guessed it had to do with the fact that she had never seen them together before today. But now that she had, she hoped that Nathan didn't notice the resemblance as well. Though she knew he probably would. He may come across as a dumb jock, but he was anything but stupid.

Haley sighed and looked at the clock. She saw that she still had a little time, so she took her time changing and putting her make-up on. As she got ready, she continued to think about Nathan, but this time she thought about when he had asked her out. She wasn't going to say yes, but when Luke had said he would take Jamie and with Nathan looking so hopeful, she couldn't not say yes. So she had agreed, even though she still had some doubts about Nathan.

She wanted to know why he broke up with her four years before and not talked to her about it. When they dated, they had talked about everything from where they wanted to go with their lives and how they wanted to get married one day. Then the day they broke up, he clammed up and wouldn't talk to her again.

So she hoped to use this night as a way of clearing the air between the two of them and hopefully to make it easier for her to tell him about Jamie. She knew he would be angry about it, especially since she had kept it from him for four years, but she hoped that he would understand why she hadn't told him. But she didn't want to think about it at the moment because she wasn't going to tell him tonight. She was going to have fun (or at least try to) and attempt to heal some old wounds.

Just then the doorbell rang signaling that Nathan was there. She took one last look at herself in the mirror and made her way down the stairs to the front door.

"Hey," Nathan said as she opened the door. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," Haley shyly said. Even though it had been four years since they had been together, she still got chills from his looks.

"O," he said sheepishly as he handed her the purple wildflowers he had been clutching. "These are for you."

"You remembered," she whispered as she took them.

Nathan shrugged and looked embarrassed. "How could I forget? When I got you roses you looked angry so you told me. I've never forgotten that conversation. I probably never will."

That last sentence was uttered more to himself, but Haley heard it anyways. She thought it said a lot about Nathan.

"You can come in while I put this in water," Haley told him opening the door wider.

Nathan stepped in and stood by the door, not wanting to come in any further and ruin anything. In all honesty, he was surprised that she had even agreed to come out, even with Luke's interference. He was preparing himself for rejection. But when she said she would, he thought he might pass out from joy. He wanted to do everything he could to right his wrongs with her and try to start again.

He still wanted to marry her, more so now than when he was younger. He guessed the saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" was true, especially in his case.

"I'm ready," Haley announced, breaking Nathan out of his thoughts.

"Let's go then," he said opening the door for her.

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Nathan parked beside a nice looking restaurant and quickly got out of the car to open Haley's door for her. She smiled at him as he helped her from the car. That was one thing about Nathan: he knew how to do things right. He was always opening door and helping people out whenever he could. It seemed like that hadn't stopped either.

Nathan shut and locked the door and then lightly placed a hand on the small of Haley's back. Haley stopped a few steps later. Nathan looked at her face.

"What?" Nathan asked her, confused as to why she had tears in her eyes.

"This is the restaurant we came to the first time I came here with you?"

Nathan smiled. "Yeah, I thought it would hold some good memories.

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_Flashback_

"_Nathan, where are you taking me?"_

"_You'll see," he told her, smirking._

_A few minutes later they pulled into a parking lot beside a nice looking restaurant. After Nathan helped her from the car, he grabbed her hand and they walked towards the door. Haley glanced up and said, "Elijah's."_ (**A/N:** That's the actual name of the restaurant where they have their "first date" in the show.)

"_I thought you might like it because it has your favorite food, Macaroni and Cheese, and you can sit by the riverfront."_

_Haley smiled her thanks and pulled him down for a quick kiss._

_End Flashback_

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When they reached the hostess stand, they were immediately shown to a table. Luckily enough Nathan had had the foresight to call ahead and make reservations.

After they were settled and their orders had been taken, they sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. Haley finally broke it with, "Luke told me you're taking a break from the NBA. Is there any particular reason?"

Nathan shifted uncomfortably in his chair and scratched the back of his head. What he wanted to tell her was that she was the reason he came here, but he knew he couldn't.

"It's just not fun anymore," he eventually said.

Haley could tell that wasn't it, but she wasn't sure whether she should pry or not. Luckily for her, Nathan continued on his own.

"What I mean is I spent most of my life planning on going into the NBA and when it eventually happened, I found it severely lacking. It wasn't what I thought it would be. I spent the last four years trying to ignore it, but after this past season I realized I couldn't anymore. So I came here to try and figure out what I want to do with my life. I have to think about what I could do if I decide to not go back to the NBA and what I would do if I did go back."

Haley nodded in understanding. She felt that way right after she had started to teach, but her thoughts had quickly changed once she got used to the kids and figured out how to handle them the best.

Before she could respond, their food came and they started to eat. While they ate, their conversation stayed on some very neutral topics. A little while later, Nathan paid for the bill (after fighting with Haley about it) and they left the restaurant to walk down the boardwalk for a bit.

After walking for a bit, they realized that there weren't a lot of people walking on the part of the boardwalk they were on and they both stopped by mutual agreement. They stood there in silence and looked over the water. Nathan was the one that eventually broke the silence.

"Almost four years," Nathan quietly said.

"What?" Haley said, startled. She was scared that he was about to say he knew about Jamie.

"Almost four years ago I made the biggest mistake of my life."

Haley didn't say anything, but waited for him to continue.

"I let something that my piece of shit father told me dictate what I should do," he continued, gripping the edge of the dock, causing his knuckles to turn white.

"What do you mean Nathan?" Haley asked, lightly placing a hand on his bicep. He flinched when he felt her hand, causing her to quickly draw it back.

Nathan turned to look at her and she saw the haunted look in his eyes. "My father showed me…pictures," he spat out. "Pictures of someone that I stupidly believed were you at the time. I realized a few months later when I saw them again that they weren't you. It was then that I realized my father had manipulated me just as one would manipulate a string puppet."

Haley backed away from him. "What do you mean pictures?" she asked shakily.

"My father hired someone that looked like you from the back to pose as you doing illicit night time activities."

Haley gasped. Nathan continued by wryly stating, "What he didn't consider was that I would know exactly what your backside looked like."

Haley blushed as she remembered what he was talking about.

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_Flashback_

_Haley woke up to the feeling of Nathan lightly running his hands up and down her sides. She giggled as she felt him linger on a particularly ticklish spot. She then started to squirm when he wouldn't leave it alone. Nathan stopped what he was doing to stop her from wiggling._

"_If you don't stop, you just might find yourself ravished," he huskily whispered in her ear as he lightly pushed forward so she could feel the evidence of her arousal._

"_Maybe I want to be ravished," she whispered back. Haley could feel herself grow wet as she felt Nathan grow harder behind her._

"_Don't say I didn't warn you," Nathan declared as he claimed her lips for a searing kiss._

_When Haley tried to turn around so she could straddle him, he stopped her and said, "Get on your hands and knees."_

_Haley pulled back and looked at him quizzically. Nathan just quirked an eyebrow at her, waiting. She eventually moved to do what he said, wondering why he told her to do that._

_She got her answer a few moments after she was settled when she felt him lightly trace the tattoo of is number on the small of her back. She then felt him lightly kiss it before she felt him poking at her entrance from behind._

_Haley gasped as she felt him slowly push his way in until he was in to the hilt. She now understood why he wanted her on her hands and knees. It allowed him better access and it was a new sensation for both of them. Haley groaned as she felt him start to thrust. She slowly allowed her arms to bend and let her torso lower to the bed, raising her butt and causing Nathan to hit a new spot within her._

_Nathan sped up a little, grunting as he moved. "God Hales…"he groaned as he started to fondle one of her breasts._

_Nathan could feel his orgasm approaching and wanted Haley to go with him, so he left her breast, hearing her whimper from the loss of contact, and let him hands roam further south until they found her little pleasure button and start to stroke it._

_On the third stroke, she fell apart in his hands, bringing him with her a few thrusts later. They both reached their pinnacle very vocally and collapsed on the bed in an exhausted heap._

"_Wow," Haley said once she caught her breath._

"_Yeah," Nathan agreed. "I think we should do that more often. I like the view from back."_

_Haley tried to swat him, but he quickly moved out of the way and gathered her into his arms._

"_What can I say? I'm an ass man."_

_End Flashback_

----------------------------------------------

"It seems you're remembering the same thing," Nathan said. "It's too bad that I didn't realize it until it was too late. You have no idea how badly I wanted to come to you when I found out, but when I asked about you, they said you were fine and you were happy and I didn't want to ruin that for you. So I stayed away."

"Nathan," Haley sighed. "I would have welcomed you back. But why did you believe your father?"

"You know what my dad's like Hales. When he wants something, he stops at absolutely nothing to achieve it. Even if it means hurting someone in the process."

Haley took another step back from him as tears formed in her eyes. "I would really like for you to take me home now."

Nathan nodded and led her to his car. The ride back to her house was completed in silence. When he parked in front and turned the car off, he looked at her and said, "Before you go in, please know that I have regretted that day four years ago since the moment the words left my mouth. I understand if you never forgive me, but I would at least like us to be friends and to maybe one day be 'us' again."

Haley nodded and quickly got out of the car. Nathan watched her until she let herself in and then drove himself home.


	5. Truths

**Disclaimer:** I don't own One Tree Hill…though I wish I did sometimes…

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay. I was finishing up my other story and then I got sidetracked with a story idea for a novel, which I am in the process of writing right now. That's a little scary…anywho, here's the next chapter of the story. I hope you like it and give me lots of reviews to help motivate me to continue writing…

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Haley spent the next few days spending time with Jamie and catching up on her work. She refused to think about Nathan. She had forgiven him the minute she saw the wounded look in his eyes and heard the sorrow in his voice. The only reason she wasn't with him was because she wasn't sure whether she could trust him again. If he was so easily manipulated once, what's to say he isn't manipulated again?

She sighed softly to herself as she started to clean the kitchen. She was completely unsure as to what she should do.

"Knock knock," Lucas said from the foyer.

"Uncle Luke!" she heard Jamie shout.

She smiled softly to herself. It made her so happy that Jamie and Luke had such a good relationship with each other. She heard Jamie run back down the hall to his room and Luke walk into the kitchen.

"Hey Hales," he said as he walked over and kissed her on the forehead. "How are you?"

"I'm not too bad. How're you?"

Luke shrugged and sat down at the counter and watched Haley as she cleaned the kitchen. After a few minutes of silence, Luke suddenly said, "What happened between you and Nathan the other night?"

Haley stopped what she was doing and took a deep breath. "What do you mean?"

"I know something happened Hales. I saw Nathan the next day and although he wouldn't say anything, I could tell he was beating himself up over something."

They sat there in silence for a little while longer until Luke said, "To be honest, I haven't seen him like this since the two of you broke up in college."

Haley inhaled sharply as Luke continued. "He won't talk to me about it, but he feels so bad for something. I can see he's hurting and I think you're the one that can help get him to be happy."

Haley turned to face Luke. "He told me why he broke up with me."

Luke's eyebrows rose. "Really? He finally told you after all this time?"

Haley nodded. "Wow. I remember you and him wouldn't talk about it with anyone when it first happened."

Haley looked down at the ground. She was about to respond when Jamie rushed into the room with his basketball.

"You ready Uncle Luke?" he excitedly asked him.

"Where are the two of you going?" Haley asked.

"I'm taking Jamie here to the River Court. Giving you time to go see Nathan."

Haley stared at Luke in shock. "Yes, I did just pull the wool over your eyes. Get over it and go make that boy feel better."

Haley slowly nodded and watched them make their way from the house. Once she heard them drive away, she snapped into action. She quickly finished what she was cleaning before heading to her room. When she reached her room, she quickly stripped down and got into the shower to wash the smell of disinfecting cleaner off her. After that, she dried off and wrapped a towel around her before making her way into her room to decide what to wear.

She didn't want to dress like she wanted anything to happen because she most certainly wasn't going to do that with him tonight, but she wanted them both to have hope. After rummaging through her closet, she found a red sundress she decided to wear. She quickly dried her hair and applied light make-up before putting the dress on. After pulling some off-white wedges on, she made her way to her car and drove towards the apartment Nathan had rented while he was there.

---------------------------------------------

Nathan was sitting in the living room of his apartment, miserable with life. He thought it had been a good idea to tell Haley about the pictures that way they could be more open with one another. But it seems like that plan had backfired on him. Nathan sighed and continued to watch Sports Center. They weren't saying anything he hadn't already heard, but anything was better than sitting there thinking about how he had royally screwed everything up with Haley.

He heard a knock on his door and sighed. He slowly got up and made his way to the door. If it was Luke, he was going to kill him. He had been coming by constantly and wouldn't leave him alone, talking about all this sentimental crap and how he needed to talk about it. Nathan had already tried talking about it and look where it got him: essentially in the doghouse with his one true love.

He jerked the door open and was about to tell the person off, but stopped in shock when he saw Haley standing there looking incredibly nervous.

"Hey," she said when he hadn't said anything after a few moments of standing there.

Nathan still didn't say anything. Haley started to nervously bite her lip. "Ok…I'm going to go," she said as she slowly started to back away.

"Haley…wait."

Haley stopped and looked at him, waiting for him to say something. "I'm sorry. I was just shocked. I _am_ shocked that you're here. Would you like to come in?"

Haley nodded and made her way into the apartment. She stood awkwardly in the foyer until Nathan ushered her into the living room. She then perched awkwardly on the edge of his armchair while he sat down on the sofa. They both sat there in silence for a few minutes, neither of them quite sure what to say.

Haley took a deep breath before saying, "I'm sorry Nathan."

"What are you sorry for?"

"A lot of things, but two in particular."

Nathan didn't say anything and waited for her to continue. "First off, I'm sorry for the other night. You were trying to explain yourself and while I had the right to be upset, I didn't have the right to treat you so badly."

"Yes you did Haley. I should have been treated that way. I was an ass to you."

"While you may think that, what I said is true and—" Here Haley's voice faltered.

"Hales?" Nathan asked, reaching towards her to grab her hand. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," she said starting to sob. "I've got to tell you something and I'm almost positive you're going to hate me for it once I've told you."

"I could never hate you," he told her, squeezing her hand reassuringly.

"Yes, you can and you will."

"Ok then," Nathan said, starting to get nervous. "What is it? You're starting to scare me here."

Haley took a few calming breaths. "When we broke up four years ago, I kept something really important from you. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to stay just because of this. I wanted you to continue on with your life and not be weighted down by me."

Haley had to pause to control her emotions. She could tell that Nathan was starting to freak out, so she said, "I found out I was pregnant the day you broke up with me. About two hours before actually."

Haley looked at his face, gauging his reaction. It was easy to see that he was thinking about what she just said. She saw the exact moment that realization dawned on his features.

"Jamie's mine?" he whispered incredulously.

Haley nodded and closed her eyes as she felt him pull his hand from his grasp and the tears started to fall from her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the disbelief written on his face.

"I'm so sorry Nathan," Haley said, wishing she could reach out to him and comfort him in some way.

Nathan didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. He was so shocked. He was a father. Jamie was his son. He looked at Haley and could see the distress written on her features, but he couldn't bring himself to snap out of his stupor and say something to calm her.

"Why are you telling me this now?" he asked her, sounding harsher than he intended.

Haley flinched at his tone. "You deserve to know."

"So you're only telling me because I'm in town? If I hadn't come back, you wouldn't have told me. Is that it?" he asked her, his temper starting to flare.

Haley didn't answer. Nathan was about to attack again when Haley said, "Part of it is that you are in town. But part of it because Jamie is about to enter school and he's going to have kids coming to school with their fathers and one day he's going to ask me why he doesn't have a daddy. What am I supposed to say? I can't say you're dead because you're not and I can't say you didn't want him because I didn't tell you! So tell me, what am I supposed to do? I wanted to tell you for years Nathan! Years! The only reason I didn't was because you were playing basketball in the NBA and you were living your dream. I didn't want to bring you down with this burden and that's exactly what we would have been."

Haley paused to draw a breath and then continued. "Since you said you were unsure about your future the other night, I knew I needed to tell you because I know that Jamie could weigh on your decision in some way."

Haley let out a deep sigh as all her anger and frustration left her. "He deserves to know his father in some capacity. Even is his father doesn't want to know me anymore."

With that, Haley stood up and strode from the apartment, leaving a dumbfounded Nathan sitting there.

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_Okay, so I wasn't going to have this happen so early, but it kind of fit in with what happened in the last chapter. Please let me know what you think and I'll try to upload the next chapter as quick as possible!_


	6. Learning Things

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it…

The next day dawned brightly and way too soon for Haley. As her body awakened, she could tell her eyes were puffy from crying the night before. She opened her eyes and immediately squinted against the light pouring into her room from the window. After allowing her eyes to be accustomed to the light, she opened them fully and stared at the ceiling while allowing her mind to wander to the night before.

Haley hoped that Nathan would eventually forgive her for keeping Jamie from him. What she didn't tell him was how hard it was for her to not tell him about Jamie the night they broke up. It was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do and then telling him yesterday had been hard as well. But even though it was hard, she knew it needed to be done. Especially since Nathan had come clean about the break up on their date.

She sighed as she got out of bed to walk down the hall to Jamie's room. She opened the door and walked over to his bed and sat on the edge. Jamie looked so peaceful sleeping there. Haley dreaded talking to him about Nathan. He had to tell Jamie some time soon, but she wasn't sure about how to bring it up. She lightly ran her fingertips over Jamie's forehead as she thought about how different things might have been if she had told Nathan about her pregnancy four years ago.

But it was no use thinking of things that had already happened. She stood up and quietly left Jamie asleep and made her way downstairs. As she walked down the stairs, she could hear someone moving around in her kitchen. After smelling the coffee, she realized it was Lucas and smiled slightly to herself.

When she walked into the kitchen, her thoughts were confirmed when she saw Lucas sitting at the counter reading the newspaper.

"Hey Hales," he said without looking up from the story he was reading.

"Hey Luke," she said as she poured a cup of coffee. She then sat down beside him at the counter.

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes before Lucas broke it by saying, "So Nathan told me that you told him about Jamie last night."

Haley swallowed and looked at Luke. "I'm proud of you Hales. I know how hard it was for you to tell him. Especially since you could have waited a lot longer."

Haley tried to smile but found that she couldn't. "How mad is he?" she asked him.

Luke sighed. "He's pretty pissed. But I guess you know that right?"

Haley nodded. "He has every right to be angry," Haley stated. "I just hope that he'll want to be a part of Jamie's life even if he can never forgive me."

Haley felt her eyes start to tear up as she thought about it. Luke set his coffee cup down and pulled her into a hug, rocking her as she cried. After a few minutes, Haley pulled back and said thank you.

"Did he say anything in particular when you talked to him?" Haley asked him.

"Not really. He was definitely shocked and was having a little trouble grasping the fact that he is a father."

Haley nodded. Luke then continued, "You know, I don't think he's as mad at you as you think he is. I mean, he is mad, but I think he's more upset about the fact that Jamie might think he's Dan one day. I remember Nate telling me that whenever he had children, he wanted to be there for them all the time. He didn't want to miss a moment of their lives."

Haley nodded and felt started to fell even worse than she had. She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat and shakily said, "I'll get together the photo albums and videos I have from Jamie growing up so you can take them to Nathan."

Luke nodded and said, "I think he might appreciate that Hales."

Haley quickly drained her cup and said, "Give me a few moments. I'll put them in a box for you."

Haley made her way from the kitchen into the living room where she kept everything dealing with Jamie growing up. She quickly searched and found the albums that dealt mainly with him and then pulled the videos off the shelf. After quickly stacking them into a box, she put them by the door before making her way back into the kitchen.

"They're by the door," she told Lucas as she hugged him goodbye.

"Thanks Hales," he told her as he picked the box up.

Haley nodded and watched Luke as he walked to his car, hoping that giving Nathan the things she had that he would at least consent to see Jamie.

------------------------------------------------------

Nathan stared at the box Lucas had given him for a few minutes. Luke had just left, saying that Haley wanted him to look through these if he wanted so he could experience everything that she did when it first happened. He smiled as he looked at everything because Haley had clearly labeled everything. He saw the first tape and grabbed it, sticking it in the VCR.

As it started to roll, it showed Haley on the hospital bed holding an infant, softly cooing to him. He then heard Luke talking to Haley about who the baby was and everything. Nathan felt tears spring to his eyes as he heard Haley say his name was James Nathan Scott. He continued to watch the first video, which showed Jamie getting brought home and the general things that new mothers record of their first child.

After the first tape ended, he immediately put the second one in. This one showed Jamie starting to roll over, crawl, and eventually walk to Haley. Nathan smiled each time he saw Jamie accomplish something new. Nathan sat there for a few hours, watching all the tapes and eventually moving to the photo albums. By the time he was finished, it was already dark outside. He had spent the entire day learning about his son. He had seen Jamie speak his first words and do so many things.

Nathan sat on his couch for a few minutes before making a decision. He gathered all the tapes and albums back together in the box. He then grabbed his keys and the box and made his way to the car. He had to go see someone.

--------------------------------------------

Haley was sitting in the living room planning out her first lessons of the year. She had just put Jamie to sleep and was enjoying the quiet. Jamie had been a bundle of energy that day and she didn't think he would ever fall asleep. But luckily enough, all that energy he had throughout the day tired him out and he quickly went off to dream land.

She sighed as she worked. Her mind wasn't in it, but she knew that her plans needed to be finished. After trying for a few more minutes, she put her pen down and started to walk to the kitchen to get some hot chocolate.

As she was walking, she heard a knock on the front door. She made her way to it with a puzzled look on her face. When she glanced through the peep hole, she was shocked. She paused for a few moments before opening the door.

"Nathan," Haley hesitantly said.

"Haley, can I come in? I think we should talk," Nathan told her.

Haley nodded and moved to the side, allowing Nathan to enter. She pointed him toward the living room and quietly followed behind him, hoping that this next conversation wasn't going to be as bad as she thought it would be.


	7. Conversations

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it…though I wish I did…

Haley gathered her things together as Nathan sat down in an armchair. She was a little nervous, so she kept fumbling with the papers she was trying to gather. After a few moments of struggling she managed to get them together in a stack. She sent him small smile of apology and sat on the couch.

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes as they each gathered their thoughts. Nathan cleared his throat and said, "I wanted to apologize for last night."

"Nathan, you don't have to apologize. You have the right to be angry about me keeping this from you."

"Haley, I said some things that I didn't mean. I was upset that you had kept this from me and in the heat of the moment I said things I shouldn't have. While that doesn't excuse what I said, know that I'm sorry for it and I didn't mean what I said."

"Nathan," Haley said sighing, "even though that may be true, you did mean it to a certain extent."

Nathan and Haley again lapsed into silence. Nathan sighed and said, "Whatever each of us think, there is one thing we definitely agree on. I want to be a part of Jamie's life as much as I can. I want to know him."

Haley nodded and asked, "Do you want to be with me when I tell him about you?"

"Do you think that would be a good idea?" he asked her, unsure about it.

"I don't know," she honestly answered. She thought about it for a few moments before stating, "It might be better if Luke and I tell him and then meet you later that day for the two of you to spend time together."

Nathan nodded. Silence reigned again. They were each in their own world, thinking about recent events and the other person. After a little while of no one speaking, Haley found the courage to ask Nathan, "Will you ever forgive me?"

Of all the things Haley could have asked him, he wasn't expecting that. Nathan sighed and collected his thoughts before answering. "I don't think it's a matter of forgiving you. It deals more with you breaking my trust in you. While I did the same thing, you kept a bigger secret from me."

Haley nodded and felt tears springing to her eyes. It was as she thought. Nathan wouldn't want to be with her anymore. She started to blink rapidly, hoping that Nathan wouldn't notice the tears that were about to fall.

But Nathan saw them anyways. "Haley, why are you crying? Don't cry," he said to her as he moved to kneel in front of where she was sitting and grasping her hands in his.

This only caused her to cry harder. "Haley, talk to me," he said, starting to get really concerned about her.

Haley continued to cry and couldn't get any words out even if she wanted to. Nathan felt so helpless. He watched her cry wanting to do something so bad, but not knowing what to do. They sat there for some minutes.

Suddenly, they heard Jamie say from the door, "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Haley and Nathan both jumped from the sound of his voice. "It's fine Baby," she said, trying to bring herself under control.

Haley motioned for Jamie to come to her and he quickly walked over and crawled into her lap. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed a kiss onto his head. The two of them sat there for a few minutes with Nathan watching the two of them.

Nathan then noticed that Jamie had turned his head and was looking at him. Now that Nathan knew about Jamie being his, he noticed the strong resemblance between the two of them. Jamie had his eyes and looked a lot like he had at that age.

Jamie continued to look at Nathan, regarding him with a penetrating gaze. Nathan actually felt a little uncomfortable with Jamie looking at him so intensely. Jamie asked him, "What are you doing here?"

Nathan's gaze flicked up to Haley's, wondering what he should tell him. He saw Haley slightly nod, giving him permission to tell Jamie.

"Well, Jamie," Nathan said nervously, swallowing. "My name is Nathan Scott. You know your Uncle Luke?"

When he saw Jamie nod, he continued by saying, "I'm his younger brother. There's a reason why you call him Uncle Luke. Do you want to know what it is?"

He again waited until Jamie nodded before continuing, glancing up at Haley as he said, "I'm your father Jamie."

The three of them sat there in silence waiting to see what Jamie would say or do. When he didn't say anything, Haley pulled back slightly to look at Jamie, asking, "Do you understand what this means Jamie?"

Jamie slowly nodded. Haley sent a covert glance to Nathan and then put her attention back on Jamie. "Nathan has said he wants to be a part of your life. Are you okay with that?"

Jamie nodded again. Haley then slid Jamie off her lap, stating she was going to the kitchen to fix some hot chocolate. She then left Nathan and Jamie together. The two of them sat in silence for a few moments before Jamie looked at him and asked, "Can I call you Dad?"

Nathan's eyes got wide. "If it's okay with your Mom then it's okay with me."

"I don't think she'll mind. She likes you," Jamie said confidently.

Nathan chuckled and changed the subject, trying to get to know Jamie. A few minutes later, Haley walked in with a small tray that had three cups on it.

"After you finish drinking this you have to go back to bed buster," Haley told Jamie as she handed him his cup.

"Mom, please let me stay up a little longer with Dad," Jamie pleaded.

Haley paused mid-motion. Nathan started to look panicked when he saw her shocked look.

"Jamie wanted to call me that. I told him he could if you were okay with it," Nathan quickly said, not wanting her to think he overstepped his bounds.

"No," Haley softly said, "it's fine if he calls you that."

Nathan and Jamie continued their conversation and Haley sat to the side, listening to them chatter. A few minutes later Jamie announced that he was finished with his hot chocolate. Just as Haley was about to stand up, Nathan asked her, "Is it alright if I put him down?"

Haley nodded and settled back down. She watched them walk from the room and sighed. Now that she was alone again, she allowed herself to think about how hard it was going to be seeing Nathan everyday, knowing that nothing would ever happen with the two of them again. She then thought about what it would be like if Nathan ever decided to get married. She didn't know if she'd be able to handle it if that happened.

Haley had been so deep in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Nathan standing in the doorway watching her.

"Hales," he said bringing her out of her reverie.

She jumped slightly and turned to face him. "What were you thinking so hard about?" he asked her as he made his way into the room and sat down next to her.

"Nothing really," she told him, hoping that he wouldn't push it.

But Nathan wouldn't give up. "It was obviously something Hales," he told her, reaching out to touch her lightly on the arm.

"Really Nathan. It's nothing," Haley said with a little more emphasis.

Nathan continued to prod her until she finally turned to him and said in a cracking voice, "You want to know what I'm thinking? I'll tell you. I'm thinking about how I'm going to have to spend the rest of my life with you visiting Jamie knowing that there can't be anything between you and me ever again. And it's killing me inside to know that I want you so bad, but I fucked up big time by not telling you about Jamie before now and I have to live with that knowledge."

Nathan stared at her in shock. He didn't think she was thinking that. He couldn't believe she was thinking that. "Hales, that's not true."

"Yes it is Nathan. I saw your look earlier when I asked whether you would ever forgive me. The look on your face said that there was no chance no for the two of us."

"Hales, that's not true! I understand why you kept it from me. The issue is my trust in you. That's something that we're going to have to work at building up again."

Haley couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. Nathan continued by saying, "While trust is going to have to be rebuilt on both sides and we were both hurt by the other, I still want to try again. I still mean what I said in college: I'm going to marry you one day Haley James."

_Flashback_

_Haley lay on Nathan's bed, thinking about the dinner they had just gotten back from. While they were eating, Nathan had all but said he loved her. He hadn't said the words, but she could see it in his eyes. It made her giddy to know that he felt the same way about her._

_She lifted her head as she heard him walk in and smiled at him. "That's a sight I could get used to," he told her as he walked over to the bed and stretched out beside her._

"_What sight is that?" she coyly asked._

"_The sight of the woman I love laying on my bed waiting for me," he told her as he nuzzled her nose with his._

_Haley leaned back and said, "What did you say?"_

_Nathan laughed. "I said the woman that I love." He paused before leaning in and whispering in her ear, "I love you Haley James."_

_His voice and the feel of his breath on her neck sent chills up and down her spine._

"_I love you too Nathan Scott," she said leaning in for a quick kiss._

_When she pulled back he grinned at her and said, "Just so you know, I'm going to marry you one day."_

_End Flashback_

"I don't care how long it takes, but I will marry you one day," he told her with the utmost seriousness.


	8. The Kids Are Alright

A/N: Sorry for the long pause in between updates

**A/N:** Sorry for the long pause in between updates. Real life intruded and I haven't been able to write anything until recently. But I hope the wait was worth it and that the wait didn't turn you all away from my story! By the way, I saw Lee Norris, the dude that plays Mouth at the gym today. I'm waiting to see James Lafferty and Sophia Bush because they both go to the gym I go to as well.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own, never will.

--

Haley stared at Nathan, a little shocked that he still held the same conviction that he had held in college. "You still want to marry me?" she asked him incredulously.

"Yes. I never doubted that," he told her with the utmost conviction.

Haley continued to stare at Nathan, completely speechless. Of all the things that she expected him to say when they talked again, she could honestly say that she wasn't expecting something that promising. While she didn't talk about it too much with her friends, she never really got over Nathan. Add to that having Nathan's son and it's easy to see why she had never gotten over him. She had a daily reminder of the love they shared in college.

Haley visibly swallowed and took a deep breath before asking him, "So what are we going to do?"

Nathan sighed and leaned back a little, looking at Haley carefully. After a few moments of silence he said, "I want to give us another try. Not just because of Jamie, but because of the feelings I still hold for you. Even when I stupidly believed the pictures my father gave me, I still loved you. I've never stopped loving you. I don't think I could because you made me a better person. You still do, even though we haven't seen each other in years. Every day I thought about you and wondered whether I'd see you again. And I swore to myself that when I did see you again, I would make things right and hope that we had a second chance. I still think all this. Even though we've both made mistakes, we have something special and I don't want to lose it again."

Haley felt tears form in her eyes. She spent a few moments trying to get her emotions under control and then looked at Nathan and said, "I feel the same way. The last four years have been so hard…"

She faltered when she thought of all the times she thought about calling Nathan and telling him about Jamie, but didn't. Nathan saw how upset Haley was and moved closer to her, pulling her into his arms. He sat there and rocked her as she quietly cried for what had happened and what was changing in her life. Their life.

After she had calmed a bit, Nathan pulled back and tilted her chin up so he could look in her eyes. "Whenever you're ready to try again, let me know and I'll be waiting for you. As I always will be Haley James."

Haley held her breath, hoping that Nathan might kiss her. He slowly leaned his head down. Just as Haley was about to let her eyes drift close, Nathan placed a light kiss on her cheek and stood up. She tried to mask the disappointment on her face, but she wasn't quite successful. Nathan cleared his throat and fidgeted a little uncomfortably.

"Well, I guess I'll let you get back to what you were doing and I'll come by tomorrow afternoon sometime to spend time with Jamie," he said as he started to back towards the door.

Haley stood and started to walk towards him. "Actually, coming by tomorrow afternoon isn't a good idea."

Nathan's face fell. Now he was scared that she was going to say that she didn't want him to be a part of Jamie's life. Haley saw the look on his face and had to stifle her laugh. "He's going to be with Luke tomorrow afternoon, so you'll have to talk to Luke if you want to see him then. Or you can pick another day and time to see him."

Nathan let out a small sigh of relief. "I'll call Luke up and see what he thinks," Nathan said with a grin as he reached the door.

Nathan opened the door and stepped through it. But before he walked down the steps, he turned to look at Haley and said, "Thank you for introducing me to our son. You won't regret your decision."

With that, Nathan turned and walked to his car, glancing back once as he unlocked the door. Haley stood in the door and gave him a small wave when he turned around. She watched as he backed out of the drive and drove away. She continued to the stand in the door long after he had left, thinking of all the things she had been told that evening and thinking about the future she and Nathan were now embarking upon.

--

The next morning, Haley awoke with a feeling of contentment that she hadn't had in a long time. She lay on her bed for a little while, thinking of the previous evening. When she had gone to bed, she had thought about everything, but she couldn't help going back through everything that Nathan had said the night before.

She was still thinking about the night before when she felt the bed move and small breaths fanning across her cheek.

"Who is that?" Haley pondered out loud, stifling a laugh when she heard Jamie giggle.

"Who do you think it is Mama?" he asked her.

Haley suddenly sat up and flipped Jamie over, starting to tickle him.

"I don't know! Could it be the most important person in my life?" she asked him while laughing.

Jamie was trying to push her away as he laughed at what she was doing. After a few moments, Jamie eventually cried Uncle, causing Haley to stop tickling him and lay back down. The two of them lay on her bed, catching their breaths. After a few minutes of laying there in silence, Jamie turned to Haley and asked, "What's for breakfast?'

Haley pretended to think for a few moments before saying, "Pancakes?"

Jamie let out a whoop and scrambled off the bed telling her to hurry up. Haley laughed at her son and got off the bed, quickly following him to the kitchen to make sure he didn't try and start without her. When she got there, she saw that Jamie was already getting the things together. She laughed at his enthusiasm and set about helping him get the ingredients together. After that, Haley set about making pancakes with her son and thinking about how much she loved him and his father.

--

Later that day, Jamie was with Luke when Nathan showed up at the River Court. Jamie saw Nathan first and yelled, "Daddy!" before dropping the basketball and running towards Nathan. To say Luke was shocked would be an understatement. Luke couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Jamie practically threw himself at Nathan, who eagerly picked him up and hugged him tightly. After a few moments, Jamie started to squirm and Nathan set him down. Jamie grabbed Nathan's hand and led him over to where Luke was standing in shock.

"Close your mouth Luke," Nathan said when he reached him. "Flies might fly in."

Luke quickly shut his mouth and glanced down at Jamie before saying, "Jamie, why don't you go over there and work on your shots?"

"But I want to play with Dad," Jamie said, pouting.

"I know, but I need to speak to him for a second. As soon as we're finished he'll go over and play with you. I promise."

Jamie stood there and thought about it for a minute before grabbing the ball and going to the basketball hoop. Once he was out of earshot, Luke turned to Nathan and said, "Daddy?"

Nathan blushed a little and filled Luke in on what had happened the night previously. While he had told Luke he had talked to Haley, he hadn't divulged everything. He thought that would be a better thing to say in person. Once Nathan finished his story, Luke looked at Nathan and then at Jamie and said, "You missed some great years Nate."

Nathan sighed and said, "I know Luke. And I don't hold that against her. I probably would have done the same thing if our places were different."

They stood in silence for a few moments before Nathan looked at Luke and said, "Even though I missed some great years, I have every intention of being there for the rest of his years until I can't make it anymore. I'm going to make sure he has even better years with me and Haley."

With that Nathan walked over to where Jamie was playing and stole the ball from him. Luke watched as Jamie laughed and chased Nathan, trying to get the ball back. Luke smiled as he saw how comfortable Nathan and Jamie were with each other and knew that things were finally starting to fall into place.

--

_Okay, another quick note. I have a beta for this story, but I can't remember her name since it's been so long. And I don't feel like searching my contacts for her. So…if you're my beta, can you please e-mail me or send me a message reminding me who you are? I feel really stupid, but that's life I guess._

_Please review!_


	9. Decisions

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill, though I wish I had access to James Lafferty on a regular basis…

**Disclaimer:** I do not own One Tree Hill, though I wish I had access to James Lafferty on a regular basis…

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the long pause in this story. Right after the last posting, my life got hectic like you wouldn't believe. This is really the first time that I've had where I've had any inspiration for this story since I've gotten the time to start writing again. I hope I haven't lost too many reader's because of the break, but I hope to finish this story up pretty quickly since classes are about to start back up for me again.

Again, I apologize and I am so sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoy it!

--

Later that day, Haley was sitting in the living room making a list for what she needed to buy for the upcoming week when her front door opened and Jamie came flying into the room.

"Mama! Dad taught me how to shoot better free throws today!" he told her excitedly.

Haley gasped and said, "He did? Did it do any good?"

"Yep! I can now make most of my free throws in my basket!"

"That's good Baby. But, do I get my hello kiss?" she asked him.

Jamie nodded and leaned in, planting a kiss on Haley's cheek. Once he leaned back, she said, "Why don't you go upstairs and change. We need to go to the grocery store in a little while."

Jamie nodded and made his way up the stairs quickly. When he was out of ear shot, Nathan looked and Haley and asked, "Do I get a hello kiss as well?"

Haley blushed, but didn't answer, looking quickly at the list she was making. Nathan shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Sorry, that was un-called for," he said a few moments later.

"No, it's fine," Haley quietly reassured him. "It just caught me off guard is all."

Nathan nodded and looked around the living room. They both endured the awkward silence for a few moments more before Jamie came bounding back into the room and sat down on Haley's lap. "Can Dad come to the store with us?" he asked her.

"Um…I don't think he can. I'm sure he has plans for the rest of the day."

"Oh," Jamie said dejectedly.

Haley bit her lip, sorry to have disappointed Jamie. Nathan cleared his throat, causing Haley and Jamie to look at him. "Actually, I don't have anything else planned for today. If you don't mind me going," he said, looking at Haley, "I would love to go with you two."

Jamie jumped up and yelled "Yippee!" and went to hug Nathan's legs. Nathan chuckled and patted Jamie on the head.

"Ok, go get your shoes on Jamie," Haley told him as she walked from the room. "We're leaving in five minutes."

Jamie quickly ran back up the stairs to put his shoes on. If Haley was completely honest with herself, she didn't know how long she'd be able to hold out against Nathan. Seeing the two of them together looked so right and it felt so right having Nathan involved in her life that she didn't know what she was going to do when Nathan moved on. While she believed that he wanted to marry her right now, she doesn't necessarily believe that it will last as long as he says it will.

Jamie came bounding down the stairs and said, "I'm ready!" before making his way to Nathan, grabbing his hand as he pulled him to the door.

Nathan and Haley laughed at Jamie's eagerness and followed him to the car.

--

Later that evening, after she had put Jamie to bed, Haley sat on the phone talking to Brooke. "I just don't know what to think Brooke. I mean, today at the grocery store definitely felt like we were a family, but I know we're not. We even looked like a family."

"I know Haley. It must be so hard with Nathan there. But this is good for you and Jamie. Jamie gets his dad and you get the guy that you will always love."

"Brooke! What are you talking about? I will not always love Nathan!"

"Haley. I remember when the two of you dated in college and how devastated you were after the break up. I can look at you now and see the love you have for him in your eyes whenever he's mentioned or you see him. It's the exact same way for him. That boy has been head over heels for you since the two of you met in college and the years apart have done nothing to change that."

Haley sighed, not saying anything. After a few moments, Brooke continued.

"Haley, most single mothers would kill to be in this situation. When they tell the father's that that's what they're going to be, the father's walk out. You know that. So the fact that Nathan is sticking around and wants to stick around says something about him. Even though he made a mistake in college by listening to his father, he knows he made it and he's trying to make it up to you. And he wants to be with you. Romantically. I don't understand why you won't at least give him a chance. I'm not saying jump his bones the next opportunity you get, but you should at least be open to romance now. I saw how happy you were before your date with him. Give it a shot."

Haley sighed again before saying, "But I'm so scared."

"I know. Love is scary. That's life."

Brooke and Haley chatted for a few minutes more before they said goodbye. After hanging up, Haley sat for a long time thinking about what Brooke had told her. She stood up after a little while and stretched, heading to bed, determined to do something the next day.

--

_Sorry for the shortness. I guess my muse didn't really want to stay with me today. I hope to be able to post so more up later this week or early next week. Please review! They always help motivate me and I sometimes get some pretty good ideas from the extensive one's I get from people._


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